PPG vs MKSI vs ESI Stock Comparison

Ppg Industries, Mks and Element Solutions Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
PPG Ppg Industries Inc
$110.60 +3.2% 1M +6.9% 1Y
Market cap
$24.51B
P/E
15.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$16.42B
Div. yield
0.03%
Paints and Coatings Basic Materials
8 wins
MKSI Mks Inc
$196.55 -25.2% 1M +39.7% 1Y
Market cap
$13.68B
P/E
31.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.35B
Div. yield
0.00%
Semiconductor Equipment Technology
2 wins
ESI Element Solutions Inc
$33.21 -6.4% 1M +27.9% 1Y
Market cap
$8.15B
P/E
39.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.49B
Div. yield
–
Specialty Chemicals Basic Materials
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Ppg Industries leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Ppg Industries 8, Element Solutions 2, Mks 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionPPGMKSIESILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $24.51B $13.68B $8.15B PPG
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 15.6x 31.1x 39.8x PPG
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 13.5x 14.6x 19.5x PPG
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.0% +16.3% +39.6% ESI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 9.6% 10.1% 5.9% MKSI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.9% 8.9% 5.4% PPG
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.9x 3.2x 3.2x PPG
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.03% 0.00% 0.00% PPG
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +6.9% +39.7% +27.9% MKSI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -7.3%/yr +6.3%/yr +7.8%/yr ESI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 30.6% 61.6% 46.8% PPG
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 68/100 55/100 50/100 PPG

Percentile Scorecard

PPGMKSIESI

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisPPGMKSIESI
Valuation 66 #33 of 94 77 #23 of 95 37 #60 of 94
Growth 74 #25 of 92 73 #26 of 93 76 #23 of 92
Profitability 86 #13 of 89 63 #34 of 91 59 #37 of 89
Financial Health 47 #52 of 97 1 #101 of 102 46 #53 of 97
Shareholder Returns 70 #22 of 70 63 #29 of 76 30 #49 of 70
Overall 68 55 50
  • PPG ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals
  • MKSI ranked among 104 companies in Semiconductors
  • ESI ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodPPGMKSIESISPY
1 month +3.2%-25.2%-6.4% -1.0%
3 months -4.7%-40.3%-11.3% +2.9%
6 months +0.7%-30.0%-17.7% +6.4%
Year to date +7.9%+23.0%+32.9% +11.4%
1 year +6.9%+39.7%+27.9% +13.1%
3 years -10.0%+170.3%+81.0% +79.4%
3 years, per year -3.4%+39.3%+21.9% +21.5%
5 years -31.6%+35.8%+45.3% +67.7%
5 years, per year -7.3%+6.3%+7.8% +10.9%
10 years +19.7%+305.7%+341.6% +255.2%
10 years, per year +1.8%+15.0%+16.0% +13.5%

Risk

MeasurePPGMKSIESISPY
Volatility, 1Y 30.6%61.6%46.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 31.4%66.0%47.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.042.792.16 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.220.650.60 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -47.0%-67.5%-40.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -15.9%-55.8%-32.3% -2.5%
52-week high $131.56$444.80$49.09 $779.14
52-week low $94.34$137.20$22.99 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultiplePPGMKSIESI
P/E now vs peer median 15.7xmedian 21.5x 30.2xmedian 41.5x 39.4xmedian 21.5x
P/S now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 1.4x 3.1xmedian 6.9x 2.3xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.0xmedian 12.4x 15.9xmedian 27.3x 17.1xmedian 12.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 17.5xmedian 15.5x 29.2xmedian 35.6x 44.1xmedian 15.5x
P/B now vs peer median 2.9xmedian 1.6x 4.4xmedian 4.2x 2.8xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median 1.95median 1.70 0.98median 2.31 0.71median 1.70

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsPPGMKSIESI
Revenue $16.42B $4.35B $3.49B
Gross profit $6.72B $2.04B $1.28B
Operating income $2.18B $681.00M $408.70M
Net income $1.57B $439.00M $205.20M
Free cash flow $1.41B $455.00M $182.90M
R&D $458.00M $310.00M $80.00M
EPS (diluted) $7.02 $6.05 $0.84
Cash & equivalents $1.52B $611.00M $224.90M
Total debt $6.89B $3.94B $7.98B
Shares (diluted) 223.90M 72.70M 243.70M
Enterprise value $17.16B $11.12B $6.94B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricPPGMKSIESI
P/E 15.7x 30.2x 39.4x
P/FCF 17.5x 29.2x 44.1x
P/Operating cash flow 11.4x 20.9x 28.4x
P/S 1.5x 3.1x 2.3x
P/B 2.9x 4.4x 2.8x
P/Tangible book 3.7x 13.7x 4.2x
EV/EBITDA 11.0x 15.9x 17.1x
EV/EBIT 13.7x 24.4x 24.3x
EV/Revenue 1.8x 3.8x 2.8x
EV/FCF 21.2x 36.5x 54.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 13.8x 26.2x 35.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.95 0.98 0.71

Growth

14 metrics
MetricPPGMKSIESI
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.0% 16.3% 39.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 1.2% 4.2% 14.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 3.8% 15.4% 21.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 3.4% 6.7% 11.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 1.6% 33.5% 17.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 3.1% 35.4% 31.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 56.2% 64.4% -14.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 5.5% 31.0% 56.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 58.1% 52.8% -15.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 8.0% 30.7% 55.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 50.0% -1.6% -16.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 7.2% 20.7% -4.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 85.4% -13.3% -32.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 2.9% 22.9% -12.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricPPGMKSIESI
Gross margin 40.9% 47.0% 36.6%
EBITDA margin 16.5% 24.0% 16.6%
Operating margin 13.3% 15.7% 11.7%
Pretax margin 12.4% 11.2% 9.0%
Net margin 9.6% 10.1% 5.9%
FCF margin 8.6% 10.5% 5.2%
Operating cash flow margin 13.2% 14.6% 8.1%
Return on equity 18.8% 15.2% 7.2%
Return on assets 7.1% 5.0% 3.5%
Return on invested capital 10.9% 8.9% 5.4%
Return on capital employed 12.7% 10.6% 7.8%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.5x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 1.4x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.2% 1.3% 2.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricPPGMKSIESI
Debt / assets 30.6% 44.1% 35.5%
Debt / equity 0.8x 1.3x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.9x 3.2x 3.2x
Debt / FCF 4.9x 8.7x 11.4x
Liabilities / assets 61.9% 66.6% 50.7%
Equity / assets 38.1% 33.4% 49.3%
Interest coverage 8.5x 3.7x –
Current ratio 1.6x 1.1x 2.8x
Quick ratio 1.1x 0.6x 1.7x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.3x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 3.72 2.27 2.47

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricPPGMKSIESI
Dividend yield 2.6% 0.5% 1.0%
Net buyback yield 1.7% – 0.5%
Shareholder yield 4.3% 0.5% 1.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) 40.2% 14.4% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 44.8% 13.8% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 1.9% 6.8% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 3.0% 3.4% –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusPPGMKSIESI
Forward P/E 13.5xFY2026 14.6xFY2026 19.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.19FY2026 $13.48FY2026 $1.70FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +8.0%FY2026 +71.1%FY2026 +14.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +11.0% +34.3% +32.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $17.60BFY2026 $5.43BFY2026 $3.82BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +10.8%FY2026 +38.1%FY2026 +49.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -6.7% +7.6% +2.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersPPGMKSIESI
Held by institutions 90.3% 100.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 1,095 775 499
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.1% +2.8% +0.6%
Institutions buying 519 455 269
Institutions selling 356 252 176
Buyers to sellers 1.46 1.81 1.53

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

PPGMKSIESI
PPG 1.00 0.22 0.35
MKSI 0.22 1.00 0.63
ESI 0.35 0.63 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, PPG, MKSI and ESI?

Ppg Industries (PPG) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ppg Industries (PPG) $24.51B, Mks (MKSI) $13.68B, Element Solutions (ESI) $8.15B.

Which stock is cheaper, PPG, MKSI and ESI?

Ppg Industries (PPG) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ppg Industries (PPG) 15.6x, Mks (MKSI) 31.1x, Element Solutions (ESI) 39.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Ppg Industries (PPG) is cheapest (Ppg Industries (PPG) 13.5x, Mks (MKSI) 14.6x, Element Solutions (ESI) 19.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Element Solutions (ESI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Ppg Industries (PPG) +5.0%, Mks (MKSI) +16.3%, Element Solutions (ESI) +39.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Mks (MKSI) has the highest net margin (Ppg Industries (PPG) 9.6%, Mks (MKSI) 10.1%, Element Solutions (ESI) 5.9%). On return on invested capital, Ppg Industries (PPG) leads (Ppg Industries (PPG) 10.9%, Mks (MKSI) 8.9%, Element Solutions (ESI) 5.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Mks (MKSI) returned the most: Ppg Industries (PPG) +6.9%, Mks (MKSI) +39.7%, Element Solutions (ESI) +27.9%. Over five years, Element Solutions (ESI) compounded fastest (Ppg Industries (PPG) -7.3%/yr, Mks (MKSI) +6.3%/yr, Element Solutions (ESI) +7.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Ppg Industries (PPG) has the highest dividend yield: Ppg Industries (PPG) 0.03%, Mks (MKSI) 0.00%, Element Solutions (ESI) 0.00%. Element Solutions (ESI) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ppg Industries (PPG) has been the steadiest (Ppg Industries (PPG) 30.6%, Mks (MKSI) 61.6%, Element Solutions (ESI) 46.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, PPG, MKSI and ESI?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Ppg Industries (PPG) leads on 8. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.